Fracture & Fatigue of Materials Research Group
The Fracture & Fatigue of Materials research group, headed by Prof David Taylor, studies failure processes in materials and the prediction of failure in engineering components. Areas of particular interest are the application of advanced fracture mechanics concepts, such as the Theory of Critical Distances, and the study of biological tissues and biomaterials.
David Taylor is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials.
Group Leader
Selected Research Projects
- Applications of the Theory of Critical Distances
- Fatigue properties of notches with treated surfaces
- Fatigue in PMMA bone cement
- Indentation and cutting of bone
- Microdamage in bone
- Bone strength and DEXA imagings
- An interdisciplinary biomechanical investigation of insect cuticle
Research Staff and Students
| Name | Position | Tel. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prof. David Taylor | Professor | +353 1 896 1703 | dtaylor@tcd.ie |
| Dr. Jan-Henning Dirks | Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow | +353 1 896 1464 | jan-henning.dirks@tcd.ie |
| Eoin Parle | Postgraduate Research Student | parlee@tcd.ie | |
| John O'Rourke | Postgraduate Research Student | orourkjo@tcd.ie | |
| Gerard Reilly | Guest Lecturer | reilly.ger@itsligo.ie |
Equipment and Facilities
Mechanical Testing Equipment
- 3 Instron servo-hydraulic testing machines
- 3 Instron screw-driven tensile testing machines
- 1 MTS Tytron electromagnetic testing machine
- Hardness testing machines (macro, micro and nano)
- Charpy/Izod impact tester
Microscopy
- Optical microscopes and metallography facilities